Factors To Look At When Purchasing or Leasing a Copier

If the time has come to install a new copier in your office, then you’ve got a significant decision on your hands. The copier you choose can have a significant effect on productivity and workflow in a high copy-volume environment. Whether you’re leasing or printing, considering these ten points before you sign the contract will help you find the copier that suits your office’s needs.

Compare The Cost of The Copy Machine to Other Copiers

This is often the first factor that people look at when purchasing or leasing a copier. While cost is certainly important, don’t let it be the final arbiter in your decision. If so, you could end up with a piece of equipment that doesn’t meet your needs, or which has hidden costs of ownership to be revealed beyond the price tag. Instead, use price as a guiding principle to narrow down some options, and then use these other factors to make your final decision.

What Kind of Copy Speed (PPM) Does Your Office Require?

This is critical if you’re dealing with a large volume of copying. If several people have access to the same copier and use it at a moderate pace, you need something that falls into the 25-45 pages-per-minute speed range. If you have higher volumes, you might need to pay extra for a faster unit.

How Much Monthly Volume Will Your Copier Need to Produce?

Volume is related to speed, but takes a longer view of your copier’s capabilities. Volume is usually measured in how many pages you expect to print per month. If you exceed the volume greatly, your copier will either not be able to keep up to the demand, or consumable parts will wear much more quickly than advertised, as they have been rated for a lower volume.

Copier Integration With Existing Equipment

Compatibility is not the problem it once was, but there are still electronics out there that don’t play nice with others. Make sure that your computer network and primary software is able to integrate smoothly with any new copier before you make a purchase or sign a lease.

Copier Network Integration

In today’s integrated workspace, a non-network enabled copier no longer makes a lot of sense. Unless you have a good reason for keeping a copier offline, such as using it for copying only confidential information, then you should look for a unit with good network connectivity and related features.

Customer Support

Like any other piece of technology, the only rule of buying a copier is that sooner or later, something will go wrong. Often this is just a little issue that is simply resolved by a professional. This is why you want to have a great support plan in place for after you make your purchase.

Copier Leasing Versus Purchasing

Because of the flexibility it allows in terms of the office budget, most companies choose to lease a copier rather than purchase copiers outright. Different providers varied options for how lease agreements can be structured. It is certainly worth looking into leasing versus purchasing if you have that option available to you. It also makes upgrading to the most recent technology much simpler than when you buy your units outright.

Do You Require Scanner Solutions in Your Copy Machine?

A modern copier should have a high quality digital scanner integrated into the unit. Scanning is a common need in most offices, and maintaining a separate unit for that single task when so many high-quality integrated units are on the market just doesn’t make sense.

Software and Features

Find out what additional features, software, and document management options are included in a photocopier before you make your purchase. There are a number of different applications that can be incorporated into these units that make them more suitable for a given work flow. These are largely preference based, so it becomes about matching a given feature set to your own needs, rather than looking for any one specific feature in an all-in-one office copier.

Office Copier Brands

There are many recognizable and reliable copier brands in the copier industry. Names like Canon and Ricoh are well established leaders in the industry. It pays to make a purchase from a brand you recognize and can trust. Companies with an established reputation stand behind their product and aren’t likely to vanish over night, leaving you without support options for the future.

2 Comments

Having a copier at work can make a business more productive, and can save them a lot of money. But it’s important that the copier is high quality so it’s helpful, and not hurtful. I liked that you mentioned the importance of finding a copier with good customer support. Just in case something goes wrong, it’s nice to know that someone is going to have your back! I’ll make sure to keep this in mind as I look for a copy machine to buy. Thanks for the help!

These are some great tips, and I appreciate your advice to find a copy machine that has the right speed for your needs. My sister and I are considering starting a business, and we’ll be needing a copy machine. We don’t need something terribly fast, so we’ll be sure to look for one in the twenty-five to forty-five page range. Thanks for the great post!